The Purification (From the Ashes We Will Rise: Book One)

Chapter 8

 "What is that," Shane growled and took off in a sprint.

"Shane! Wait!" Lori screamed at the rest of us followed after him.

Damn that man is quick.

"Man what the hell are you doing!" Shane screamed as we reached the gate.

The group came to a sudden halt, not wanting to get to close to the walkers.

"Shane, just back off," Rick ordered.

"Why do your people have guns?" Hershel panted as he forced the dead woman forward.

"Are you kidding me!" Shane exclaimed. "You see what they're holding onto?"

"I see who I'm holding onto!" Hershel shouted back.

"No, man, you don't!" Shane shouted, pacing around them like a dog in heat.

"Shane, just let us do this and then we can talk," Rick grunted as he forced the walker closer and closer to the barn.

"What you want to talk about, Rick? These things ain't sick! They're not people! They're dead! Ain't gonna feel nothing for them 'cause all they do it kill! These things right here, they're the things that killed Amy! They killed Otis! They're gonna kill all of us!"

"Shane, shut up!" Rick hollered at him.

"Hey Hershel man, let me ask you something," Shane spoke, much calmer than before. "If they're a living breathing person could they walk away from this?

Shane cocked back a pistol and without so much as thinking about it, fired three shots into the female walkers chest.

"No! Stop it!" Rick commanded, unable to let go of his catch pole.

"That's three rounds in the chest! Could someone who's alive, could someone just take that? Why is it still coming?"

He fired to more shots in to the walking corpse, "that's its heart, its lungs! Why is it still coming!"

Another three rounds left the gun and entered the walker.

"Shane enough!" Rick shouted.

"Yeah, you're right, man," Shane nodded vindictively, pounding his feet into the ground and let one last bullet find its brain. "It is enough."

Everyone just stood there in shock. He was having a god damn mental break down and he has a loaded gun. Nobody was trying to get in his way right now.

"Enough risking our lives for a little girl who's gone! Enough living next to a barn full of things that are trying to kill us! Enough! Rick, it ain't like it was before! Now if y'all wanna live, if you want to survive, you gotta fight for it! I'm talking about fighting right here, right now!"

Shane sprinted the last few yards to the barn door. Oh shit. Shane was gonna get us all killed. I nodded for Lincoln to go over to Lori and Carl, I had no idea what this crazy ass man was gonna do. Tuck followed loyally behind Linc and stood guard in front of the three of them.

"Take the catch pole!" Rick begged. "Hershel! Hershel take the catch pole! Hershel! Listen to me, man, please! Take it now Hershel! Hershel! Take it!"

Shane had found a pickaxe and began slamming to butt of it against the padlock on the barn door.

"No, Shane! Do not do this, brother. Wait!" Rick begged.

"Don't do it!" Glenn screamed with his arms wrapped around Maggie as Shane busted the lock off the door.

"Rick!" Lori screamed.

"Please!" Rick begged desperately as Shane removed the last barricade from the door.

Shane slammed his fists against the barn doors, calling the attention of every walker inside the barn. They came storming out one by one and now there was no choice. Andrea and T-Dog flanked to either side of Shane as he began taking down the walkers one by one. I looked to my brother who was looking to Maggie.

"It's okay," she cried and then Glenn and I joined the others.

Round after round I fired, taking down a walker with each one. Shane turned around and killed the one on the end of Rick's pole, freeing him from his position. But he stayed back. We've take down dozens, but they just keep coming. I looked back and saw that Lori had the boys cradled in her arms while Tuck stood in front of them, teeth bared. No one else emerged from the barn and everyone lowered their weapons.

That's when the last walker hobbled out of the barn. She was a young girl with short blonde hair.

"Sophia? Sophia!" Carol sobbed as she ran towards her daughter, but Daryl caught her in her arms. "Oh no, Sophia. Sophia."

No one moved an inch. Carol's sobs were the only sound that could be heard for miles around. Rick walked forward as Sophia slowly got closer to the group and aimed his gun directly at her head. His hand was unsteady, shaking almost. He spared her as long as he could before one last shot rang through the air.